Using data from the 1990 Census of Population and
Housing, the relationship between socioeconomic status and
residential distribution was examined for the black population
in four Virginia cities, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Norfolk, and
Richmond.

Three indexes were employed to measure degrees of
segregation at the census tract level. These indexes were,
dissimilarity, interaction, and isolation. The dissimilarity
index is a measure of the evenness of residential distribution
of minority members. The interaction index is a measure of
the probability of minority residential contact with majority
members. The isolation index is a measure of the probability
of residential isolation of minority members. Census tracts
were classified according to the extent of racial changes that
took place in these tracts. Socioeconomic status of black
residents was measured over two dimensions: education and
income. The association between minority socioeconomic
achievement and degrees of segregation was estimated with
multiple regression.

A majority of the regression results supported the human
ecology theory that minority spatial assimilation is an
outcome of socioeconomic achievements. Findings also
suggested that the relationship between minority socioeconomic
status and degrees of segregation did not vary in strength in
the hierarchical pattern predicted by previous human ecology
studies of segregation. The findings provide a minor
departure from the traditional theory of human ecology. The
regression models estimating the effects of socioeconomic
variables on residential dissimilarity and residential
isolation showed statistical significance. The regression
models estimating the effects of socioeconomic variables on
residential contact did not show statistical significance.
This might suggest that present measures of residential
segregation and socioeconomic status need to improved.